The 5 Biggest Fitness Mistakes

Take a walk through any gym, and you'll notice many mistakes. Mistakes that waste time. Mistakes that put people in danger. And mistakes that are just plain stupid. Maybe you even make a few of these mistakes yourself.

By avoiding these common blunders, you'll put yourself on the fast track to results. Check out the following 5 fitness mistakes and the solutions you need to avoid danger and to get fit fast.

Mistake 1: You use the wrong weight

The goal is to challenge your muscles, not to simply go through the motions. If you are able to complete 15 repetitions easily, then the weight is too light. On the flip side, if you aren't able to perform an exercise through its full range of motion, and find yourself cheating on form, then the weight is too heavy.

The correct weights will feel challenging by your last few repetitions, but won't force you to sacrifice form.

Mistake 2: You do the same routine

You may have noticed that most people do the same exercises each time they visit the gym. Maybe you've been doing the same exercise routine as long as you can remember - if it isn't broken then don't fix it, right?

The truth is that exercise routines have expiration dates, and that is the date that they begin to lose their effectiveness. As a rule of thumb never use the same routine for more than 4 weeks.

Mistake 3: You don't warm up

Most people consider warm up time to be wasted time - they'd rather jump right into the heart of the routine. What they don't realize is that a good warm up will allow you to perform at a higher intensity, which means greater results.

The point of a warm up is to increase your muscle temperature. This increases blood flow, muscle contraction and reduces muscle resistance. Your warm up should last 5-10 minutes.

Mistake 4: You use bad form

Gyms are filled with people performing exercises with bad form. The two biggest reasons are that you aren't concentrating on the exercise, or you're trying to lift weight that is too heavy. Lifting with improper form almost always results in injury.

Take the time to achieve proper form, by doing so you'll avoid injury and will reap the full benefit from each exercise.

Mistake 5: You workout alone

People who exercise alone are less challenged, less accountable and typically see fewer results. It makes sense, doesn't it? Why rush to the gym if no one is there waiting for you? Why push yourself if no one is watching? Exercising alone is a recipe for disaster.

The "20-10" Workout!!

Happy New Year everybody,
Today we look back at a good 2009, and look ahead to a GREAT 2010. Filled with health, happiness, success, and achievment!

Start your new year off with this "20-10" workout. It is a simple concept:
20 reps per exercise, 10 exercises in a circuit format. Each round through the circuit will ive you 200 repititions, do this 2 to 3 rounds to get up to 600 REPS!!!

Have fun and change any exercises to suit your level of fitness:

1. Barbell push press
2. Body Row
3. Push-ups
4. Lunges with bicep curl
5. Stability ball plank roll outs
6. Medicine ball throw down
7. Squat jumps
8. Hanging knee ups
9. Tube tricep pushdowns
10.Crunches

Let me know what you think, eave your comments below.

Happy and Healthy New Year
Scott

Last Minute Gifts idea for a Healthy 2010!!

Merry Christmas!
I was recently introduced to an amazing book. It is one of those books that is so easy to read and so informative that you will have a hard time putting it down. I have not finished the entire book yet, but I liked it so much that I bought 13 copies to pass out to my clients and I wanted to share it with you here today.

It is called: The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth: The Surprising, Unbiased Truth About What You Should Eat and Why. By: Jonny Bowden, PH.D., C.N.S (hopefully no relation to Bobby!, just kidding, when ever I get a chance to knock on FSU I gotta take it!:)Here is the Amazon link:



http://www.amazon.com/150-Healthiest-Foods-Earth-Surprising/dp/1592332285/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261401666&sr=8-1

So if you are having trouble buying a gift for that person that already had everything, I highly recommend this book.

Thank you all for taking the time to read my Blogs over this past year. I hope you have a very Merry Christmas, a happy holiday season, and a very healthy 2010!!

Scott


P.s.
Have you taken the "12 Days of Christmas" workout challenge yet?
Here is the video!!

The "12 Days of Christmas" The workout

Hey Everyone,
I just finished editing my annual Christmas workout. The "12 Days of Christmas". It is an INTENSE circuit style workout.

Check out the youtube link below, time your workout from start to finish and then post a comment with your best time.

Good Luck and Merry Christmas.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8SrqzbYsk0

MTS of the Week 12/1/2009.... 50-10-5

Hey Everyone,
This week I have one of two circuits that I put all of our personal trainers through at our last monthly staff meeting.

It is INTENSE! It is a 50-10-5 circuit. Which means, each exercise is performed for 50 seconds, followed by a 10 second rest/transition, with a total of 5 exercise. Each round consist of 5 minutes of intense strength endurance based exercise. Each round is followed by a 60 seconds break, then the routine is repeated for a total of 4 or 5 rounds totaling 25 minutes.

1. Kettle Bell/dumbbell plank row
2. Alternating leg lunge
3. Kettle bell swings
4. Box/ bench jumps
5. Kettle Bell Snatches

Give it a go! Enjoy.
Scott

Holiday Survival Guide 2009

Hey Blog-villers,
Well, its that time a year again when we notice a couple of trends here around the gym.
1. We notice a lot more inconsistency with clients making it to their personal training sessions or visits to the gym. This is to be expected due to the fact that many people will be traveling around the holidays to be with friends and families, and
2. People have a tendency to over-indulge during the holiday season and put on a couple of extra and unwanted pounds.

So, I offer you these simple tips to keep you on track with your health and fitness goals during this time of year.

1. Keep a food log: Many nutritionist recommend this, and research backs them up, that when you simply record what you eat on a daily basis you will lose weight faster. This is especially important during the holidays when we will be tempted by snacks and sweets common during the holidays.
2. Get out and walk: During the holidays people tend to travel more, which means people will get out of their routine of going to the gym to get their exercise. Walking is a great way to stay active when you are away from home and not able to go to the gym. Walking is low impact, burns calories, and and helps trigger many of our normal and important bodily function, such as digestion that will help us metabolize those holiday snacks and meals. Get a pedometer, they can be very inexpensive, and aim for at least 10,000 steps per day.
3. Holiday Parties!: We all have them this time of year, they are often unavoidable(office parties, thanksgiving parties, Christmas parties, etc..) You would never guess that I work in a health and fitness facility if you saw our break room this time of year. It is kind of embarrassing actually. We have many members that bring us cookies, cakes, snacks, and random goodies...... It is a thoughtful gesture of their appreciation for what we do and we appreciate it very much, however, I know how easy it is to "snack" more than normal this time of year. If you are hosting the party, provide the smaller "dessert" size plates for your guest to use. Bottom line is that with smaller plates you can't fit as much food on them! And if you are attending a party be sure to seek out the small plates and make a point to just fill this one plate up and be done.
4. Fill the Tank: Start your day of thanks with a fiber-filled breakfast. Fiber will take up more space in your stomach and keep you feeling full longer. Don't skip any meals because you know you are going to have a big Thanksgiving Day meal, eat normal throughout the day so you wont want a big meal!
5. Don't deprive yourself...moderation is the key: Treat yourself to the things you enjoy. Don't try to completely avoid all the treats you like, this often times can lead to over-eating when you do decide to enjoy them. Just "sample" the sweets and snacks. This takes a little will power, but if you just sample little portions of the "goodies" you will feel much better about yourself, while still satisfying your cravings. At the table, fill most of your plate with lean cuts of meat and vegetables. When you've filled up on the healthy stuff then simply taste the heavier dishes, rather than eating a large serving.
6. Wait!: Wait at least 20 minutes before you get a second helping. This is very important since it takes at least this long for your body to register how full it actually is. You may realize after 20 minutes that you don't want seconds after all.

I hope these tips help you stay healthy and happy during this holiday season. Have an incredible and safe Thanksgiving!

Kaizen,
Scott

MTS of The Week 11/2/2009

Hey Everyone,
Today we have another entry of the MTS of The Week.
This workout is kinda cross fit style made to challenge strength-endurance. This is a great circuit training work out method that lets you challenge yourself from one set to the next.

*each exercise is done for 1 min in duration with no rest in between exercises. Score 1 point for every repetition completed during that minute for A1-A4, for A5 count how many calories burned in the minute. Add your points together, and that will be your score to beat for the next round.

A1 Medicine Ball toss against a wall 20 lbs
A2 Kettle Bell sumo deadlift to high pull 50 lbs
A3 Box jumps (at least knee level box)
A4 Dumb bell Push press ~25-30 lbs
A4 Concept 2 rower

Enjoy!
Scott